Parking Behaviour Analysis of Shared E-Bike Users Based on a Real-World Dataset -- A Case Study in Dublin, Ireland

TL;DR

This study analyzes shared E-bike parking behaviors in Dublin using real-world data, revealing that nearly 13% of users park improperly, which impacts operational efficiency and user experience.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of user parking behaviors of shared E-bikes using a real dataset, highlighting patterns and issues relevant for service improvement.

Findings

Up to 12.9% of users park bikes improperly.

Analysis conducted at both station and individual levels.

Results visualized with various tools.

Abstract

In recent years, an increasing number of shared E-bikes have been rolling out rapidly in our cities. It therefore becomes important to understand new behaviour patterns of the cyclists in using these E-bikes as a foundation for the novel design of shared micromobility services as part of the realisation for next generation intelligent transportation systems. In this paper, we deeply investigate the users' behaviour of shared E-bikes in a case study by using the real-world dataset collected from the shared E-bike company, MOBY, which currently operates in Dublin, Ireland. More specifically, we look into the parking behaviours of users as we know that inappropriate parking of these bikes can not only increase the management costs of the company but also result in other users' inconveniences, especially in situations of battery shortage, which inevitably reduces the overall operational efficacy of these shared E-bikes. Our work has conducted analysis at both bike station and individual level in a fully anonymous and GDPR-Compliant manner, and our results have shown that up to 12.9% of shared E-bike users did not park their bikes properly at the designated stands. Different visualisation tools have been applied to better illustrate our obtained results.